Queer 70s

LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade after Stonewall

Wed 11 Jun —Wed 16 Jul 2025

A still from A Woman Like Eve, showing two naked women embracing in bed.

Travel back to the 1970s, when LGBTQ+ lives were shown on screen with an unapologetic gusto unthinkable a decade before.

Following the Stonewall Riots in 1969, the next decade saw the rise of Gay Liberation movements and greater queer visibility across the world.

Queer cinema of the time reflects these changes, as LGBTQ+ directors grabbed opportunities to tell their own stories. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex characters in these films took centre stage – and this time, they weren't the victims or villains. The 1970s saw LGBTQ+ figures flourish on screen, and even enjoy a happy ending or two.

Queer 70s embraces a variety of genres, from comedies, melodramas and experimental films to a Roman epic and even a pornographic movie, showcasing films from Australia, Belgium, India, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.

Events

A still from Superdyke, showing the front of a bus with a group of women inside. On the front of the bus is a large banner saying Lesbian Express.

Event

Cinema

Barbara Hammer: She’s Beautiful, Sexy, Angry and Liberated!

Wed 11 Jun 2025, 18:45

We celebrate the legacy of Barbara Hammer, a true pioneer of LGBTQ+ cinema, with a special event featuring her groundbreaking shorts Dyketactics, Superdyke, Women I Love and Double Strength.

A person's head wrapped in tape measures, bathed in green light

Event

Cinema

Bye Bye Love (Baibai rabu バイバイ・ラブ)

Thu 12 Jun 2025, 18:30

A wild and violent road trip with a genderqueer partnership at its centre, Isao Fujisawa’s breathtaking and radical movie was thought lost until a negative was unearthed in 2018.

A black and white still from The Set, showing a topless man laying in bed with another man laying in his lap.

Event

Cinema

The Set + introduction

Sun 15 Jun 2025, 15:00

A naïve young man is chewed up and spat out by Sydney’s high society, participating in an intense fling with another man on his downward spiral. Is he doomed or can he hope for redemption?

A woman in a red coat and red hat stands in front of a window with her hand placed up on the glass.

Event

Cinema

Ticket of No Return + introduction

Tue 17 Jun 2025, 18:20

A glamourous woman arrives in West Berlin, begins a drinking spree and forms a relationship with another woman in UIrike Ottinger’s droll, visually striking odyssey.

Three people in orange overalls chat together and stare into the camera

Event

Cinema

Car Wash + intro by Mzz Kimberley

Thu 19 Jun 2025, 18:20

There are a hundred reasons to love this lively comedy, set in a California car wash, not least Antonio Fargas’ scene-stealing turn as the flamboyant Lindy.

A black and white still from Badnam Basti, showing a man leaning out of a truck window speaking to another man.

Event

Cinema

Badnam Basti (Neighbourhood of Ill Repute) + introduction

Sun 22 Jun 2025, 17:30

Considered India’s first queer film, Prem Kapoor’s captivating melodrama revolves around a bisexual love triangle set in Uttar Pradesh.

A black and white still from Je Tu Il Elle, showing two naked women laying face to face on a bed, touching each other's faces.

Event

Cinema

Je Tu Il Elle + introduction

Tue 24 Jun 2025, 18:30

Chantal Akerman’s feature debut, made when she was just 24, is a potent and radical portrait of the search for connection, culminating in a famous 10-minute lesbian sex scene.

A male-presenting character stands on the left, pointing at something ahead of them. A woman stands on the right, her gaze following his finger.

Event

Cinema

My Dearest Senorita (Mi querida señorita) + introduction

Wed 25 Jun 2025, 18:20

Jaime de Armiñán’s Oscar-nominated drama made, extraordinarily, in Franco’s Spain, is an early and sympathetic portrait of identity and intersexuality.

Two women embracing and kissing on a staircase

Event

Cinema

A Woman Like Eve (Een vrouw als Eva)

Wed 9 Jul 2025, 18:30

After leaving her husband for another woman, a mother faces difficult challenges and decisions about her future in Nouchka van Brakel’s Dutch melodrama from 1979.

A still from Adam & Yves, showing two men in a close embrace

Event

Cinema

Adam & Yves + extended intro by David McGillivray

Mon 14 Jul 2025, 18:20

Peter de Rome’s pornographic film follows the courtship of two men in Paris and features plentiful, artistically shot sex scenes and an unwitting cameo by a Hollywood legend.

Two naked men smiling and hugging each other in the sea.

Event

Cinema

Sebastiane + ScreenTalk

Wed 16 Jul 2025, 18:20

Derek Jarman’s homoerotic reimagining of the life and death of Saint Sebastian draws parallels between the legend of the martyr and contemporary gay persecution.

Venue Hire

What we offer

Barbican Immersive Exhibitions

Saved events

Queer 70s

LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade after Stonewall

Events

Barbara Hammer: She’s Beautiful, Sexy, Angry and Liberated!

Bye Bye Love (Baibai rabu バイバイ・ラブ)

The Set + introduction

Ticket of No Return + introduction

Car Wash + intro by Mzz Kimberley

Badnam Basti (Neighbourhood of Ill Repute) + introduction

Je Tu Il Elle + introduction

My Dearest Senorita (Mi querida señorita) + introduction

A Woman Like Eve (Een vrouw als Eva)

Adam & Yves + extended intro by David McGillivray

Sebastiane + ScreenTalk

Venue Hire

What we offer

Barbican Immersive Exhibitions

Saved events

Queer 70s

LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade after Stonewall

Events

Barbara Hammer: She’s Beautiful, Sexy, Angry and Liberated!

Bye Bye Love (Baibai rabu バイバイ・ラブ)

The Set + introduction

Ticket of No Return + introduction

Car Wash + intro by Mzz Kimberley

Badnam Basti (Neighbourhood of Ill Repute) + introduction

Je Tu Il Elle + introduction

My Dearest Senorita (Mi querida señorita) + introduction

A Woman Like Eve (Een vrouw als Eva)

Adam & Yves + extended intro by David McGillivray

Sebastiane + ScreenTalk

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